MotoGP Race

Rossi started this race from pole position which is the fourth time this season he has earned that honour.  According to the form guide in the previous 28 times Rossi has started from pole he has gone on to win the race on 23 of those occasions.  If Rossi repeats that feat this afternoon he will become the first Yamaha rider to ever score five consecutive victories in the premier class and he would also become the only Yamaha man to take two victories at Assen.

Gibernau sits alongside Rossi on the front row and today is his 150th start in GP.  In six out of the seven rounds thus far Gibernau has started from the front row.

Also on the front row is the big up and comer for 2005 which of course is Marco Melandri.  Once talked about as a fairly out of control sort and a bit of a loose cannon the Italian has settled well in the Telefonica squad this year and has left all the other HRC riders in his wake when it comes to championship standings.  Melandri has won at Assen in both the 125 and 250 ranks and today is his fifth front row start for 2005. Another statistic that clearly illustrates the remarkable turnaround in form by Melandri is the fact that he has already scored more points in the first six rounds of 2005 than he managed to amass throughout the whole of 2004.

Shinya Nakano heads the second row in a remarkable turn of fortune for Kawasaki at a circuit that few would have predicted they could figure highly at. This is his best qualifying position since he qualified third in Malaysia last year.

Nicky Hayden qualified in the top five for the fifth time in succession.  The affable American has been strong this year but just seems to need something extra to fall in to place before he can really be a regular protagonist in the fights for the outright race wins.  Hopefully we can see him get there this year.

There was a fair bit of drama surrounding the final qualifying session on Friday with Biaggi getting caught up in two if the incidents.  Biaggi ran on before the chicane and rejoined the circuit only to bash in to Battaini which pushed him off in to the dirt. Then Biaggi had a coming together with Melandri but the real furore erupted in pitlane when one of Biaggi's relatives then assaulted Melandri which saw him ejected from the circuit.  All fun and games but hopefully no such dramas with run ons at the chicane cause any problems during the race.

But with the pre race dramas out of the way and it is was Sete Gibernau, Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden the early chargers through the first turns with Nakano and Capirossi in tow while Rossi went back a little and was momentarily pushed back to seventh place by his teammate Colin Edwards but he was soon back up to sixth as dark clouds threatened on the horizon.

Hayden promoted himself up to second place after he made a move on Sete Gibernau and the young American was looking very determined and full of aggression. 

With 17 laps to run Rossi moved past Capirossi for fifth place and then went one better by slipping through on Nakano for fourth place.  Marco Melandri continued to lead but was being stalked by a charging Hayden.  Hayden the only man up front to be running a soft rear tyre however and that could be a telling figure in the closing laps but it also important to note that a softer compound does not always result in increased wear if the set-up and track conditions are right.

Rossi left Nakano and Capirossi behind him and his Gauloises Yamaha teammate Colin Edwards followed his teammate's lead and also moved past the Kawasaki and Ducati men to push up to fifth position behind his teammate. Rossi put in a flyer to close onto the tail of Gibernau and the leading quartet were fairly closely packed and Rossi looked ready to slip up the inside of Gibernau should any tiny gap open before him.  Edwards also coming forward to join the pack though after setting the fastest lap of the race.

Then to upset the applecart Gibernau went in hot under Hayden and pushed the young American way wide which also allowed Rossi through and relegated Hayden to fourth place and the American lost plenty of time and immediately fell back into the clutches of Edwards as large black lines painted out behind his rear Michelin as he tried to escape from Edwards and close the gap back down to Rossi.  That was not to be however as Edwards pushed Hayden further back to fifth place on the next lap after making a neat inside move on his compatriot.

Melandri still looking unfussed out in front while Gibernau looked very untidy in his efforts to stay ahead of Rossi with his rear wheel wagging away from the apex of each turn while Rossi's Yamaha looked relatively on rails. Rossi then used that to his advantage to slip underneath Gibernau in a clean move which anyone could have predicted as Gibernau looked more worried about where Rossi was than the position of his own bike on the track as his lines just looked all wrong at every turn and defensive while at this stage of the race defensive should have been the furthest thing from his mind.

Rossi then marched forward onto the tail of Melandri but his young compatriot is certainly not known for giving an inch in battle and he won't care who is on his hammer and will give as good as he gets from Rossi which looked set for this to set up as a fantastic battle to the line.  This pair streaking away.

Rossi got Melandri in a clean inside move using the positive camber of the track but the Telefonica man stayed with him as they entered a crucial part of the race where Rossi would see if he could break the two of his pursuer...

Colin Edwards slipped up the inside of Gibernau and pushed the Honda man out a little wide to ensure he retained the advantage on the exit to hang on to that third position he had just gained.

Melandri was not giving up and set a new fastest lap of the race on lap 11 to stay right on the tail cowling of the Gauloises Yamaha.  On the following lap Melandri nearly punted Rossi from behind as he entered a turn with a lot more speed than the reigning world champion but they both remained upright and Rossi wouldn't have even realised that there had been a 'moment'. Even with that little heart murmur Melandri still managed to again set a new fastest lap on that 12th lap. 

Nicky Hayden had got up to fourth place after relegating Gibernau to fifth while Edwards continued his impressive charge in third place and was running the best trap speeds through the radar guns to dispel the apparent top speed advantage of the Honda.

The next lap around was a nightmare for Melandri though as some unseen moment saw him lose nearly a second to Rossi, a huge gap and one that could be insurmountable with six laps to run.

Colin Edwards was looking certain for a podium spot but he was not too far behind Melandri and any momentary lapse from the Telefonica man would highlight the possibility of a Yamaha 1-2 at Assen which really would be a turn up for the books at such a fast and flowing circuit that most would have expected the Honda to show a superiority.

With four laps to run nearly a full second separated Rossi and Melandri but the youngster had not thrown the towel in as on the preceding lap he had reeled three-tenths in on Rossi after again setting a new fastest lap.  The game not over just yet...

Two laps to run and six-tenths the gap as Melandri again puts down a new fastest lap of the race. We said Melandri would never be one to throw in the towel and that seems apparent as he certainly has not given up hope...

The gap half a second as they start the final lap as the leading duo left Edwards in their wake as they set about their own private battle but it is Rossi that does it again.  A fantastic race from Melandri though and Edwards brings home third place to make it two Yamaha men on the podium.

Race Result

1. Rossi
2. Melandri
3. Edwards
4. Hayden
5. Gibernau
6. Biaggi
7. Barros
8. Nakano
9. Checa
10. Capirossi
11. Bayliss
12. Xaus
13. Hopkins
14. Tamada
15. D Checa
16. Roberts
17. Byrne
18. Rolfo
19. Ellison
20. Battaini

Championship Points

1. Rossi 170
2. Melandri 107
3. Biaggi 87
4. Gibernau 84
5. Barros 74
6. Edwards 73
7. Hayden